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Brandon Kozun entered this Maple Leafs camp saying he is proud of his defensive play.

That’s almost discordant to what you’d expect from a quick skater who recently led all of junior hockey in scoring — twice — but Kozun exhibits the tough lesson learned by all high-octane juniors.

“I’m happy to pride myself on my defensive play, my speed helps a lot, and I know I can play in any offensive role, but I want to be a player who can play at both ends of the ice,” Kozun said as the Leafs camp finished up a second day of scrimmages in advance of the first exhibition game Monday in London, against Philadelphia.

Kozun, the former Calgary Hitmen forward who collected more points than anyone in junior hockey in 2008-10, skated with a pair of speedy point getters in Mike Santorelli and David Booth on Sunday.

That was something of a tip of the cap to the 24-year-old native of Los Angeles; both Santorelli and Booth are expected to crack the Leafs lineup, and while Kozun has yet to play a career NHL game, his skill level and development are being noticed.

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Kozun’s hockey station at the close of camp is most likely to be a return to the Marlies, where he played the final 32 games of the season after the Leafs brought him over from the Kings AHL team in Manchester for Andrew Crescenzi.

Kozun is getting to the age where he needs to crack an NHL lineup. But the depth chart in Toronto is all but full, with the Leafs eyeing veteran presence — they brought in six new, seasoned NHL forwards for this season — and first rounder William Nylander showing NHL viability.

It’s possible, for instance, that Nylander, who also has great speed and skating abilities, gets pencilled into a third line alongside Santorelli and Booth. Nylander could also be a Kozun linemate with the Marlies, should the Leafs send the 18-year-old to the AHL, allowing him to play first line minutes, and landing something they haven’t had a lot of at the AHL level: a superstar rookie.

For Kozun, there’s a constant reminder of the uphill battle he faces, regardless of his pedigree as a proven scorer at the junior level.

“Last year in Manchester (Kings AHL affiliate), I played a lot of penalty kill, and when I came over to the Marlies, I played a lot of penalty kill, I was paired a lot with Jerry D’Amigo,” Kozun said.

“I came up through the L.A. system and they really preached defensive play. It helped me realize my play in junior, you sometimes get away with a lot of things there, but now I pride myself on my defensive play.”

Ultimately, Kozun has shown he can retain some of his former offence at every level he’s played at. Following his junior hockey exploits, he posted three consecutive 20-goal seasons with Manchester in the AHL.

He’s also familiar with the game’s greatest scorer, Wayne Gretzky.

When he was about five years old, he was in Gretzky’s Los Angeles home with Gretzky’s son, Ty, when an earthquake struck the L.A. area.

“My skating coach was helping Ty with his skating, and I was a natural skater, so the coach told Ty to hang out with me,” said Kozun, who went on to play with Ty Gretzky at the Iceoplex for the West Valley Wolves.

“Our parents got to know each other and it was kind of a cool thing for me growing up.”

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